The Netherlands: Van Oord Orders New Cable-Laying Vessel

Van Oord has ordered a new cable-laying vessel. The ship will be built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania and will be completed at the end of 2014.

The vessel is intended for the installation of electricity cables for offshore wind farms. Van Oord is making preparations for the Gemini offshore wind farm which will be constructed 60 kilometres to the north of Schiermonnikoog, one of the Dutch Wadden Islands. The cable-laying vessel will be deployed at that site, among many others.

Main characteristics

The vessel will be a multipurpose vessel with a length of 120 metres, a beam of 28 metres and a dynamic positioning system. It will be equipped with a cable carousel of more than 5,000 tonnes and a heavy crane that will enable it to lay heavy and long export cables. On board 90 people can be accommodated.

Strategy

The cable-laying vessel forms part of the Van Oord strategy to offer a complete package for the construction of offshore wind farms as an EPC contractor. Furthermore, this contract endorses Van Oord’s drive to continuously serve new and existing markets by investing in new technology and marine ingenuity.

Damen Offshore Carrier 7500

The new Van Oord cable layer is based on the Damen Offshore Carrier, a new multipurpose vessel design with a flush working deck, Heavy Lift or RoRo transport as well as offshore installation capabilities suitable for multiple markets. To this purpose, a large number of (offshore) installation equipment can be mounted on the vessel and the design can be adapted to create a dedicated ship, such as the vessel desired by Van Oord.

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Press release, September 06, 2013; Image: abb